RJI Professional Innovation Fellowships 2027: $75,000–$100,000 to Build Open Journalism Resources
The Reynolds Journalism Institute Professional Innovation Fellowships support people and organizations building practical, free, accessible resources for community-centered news. The 2027 cycle opens November 2, 2026, and the first-round application deadline is December 18, 2026.
The Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) Professional Innovation Fellowships give journalists, researchers, consultants, technologists, and partner organizations time and funding to build something that other journalists and communities can use. The official RJI page has announced the 2027 cycle: applications open on November 2, 2026, and first-round applications close on December 18, 2026.
This is a live, announced opportunity rather than an archive entry. Applications are not open yet on the current date, so applicants should prepare their materials in advance and return to the official RJI page when the application window opens. The program has three tracks, with awards ranging from $75,000 to $100,000. Each fellowship lasts eight months, is remote with a couple of visits to RJI, and is built around producing a public resource by the end of the fellowship.
RJI Professional Innovation Fellowships 2027 at a glance
| Detail | Official information |
|---|---|
| Program | Reynolds Journalism Institute Professional Innovation Fellowships |
| Cycle | 2027 RJI Professional Innovation Fellows |
| Applications open | November 2, 2026 |
| First-round deadline | December 18, 2026 |
| Fellowship start | June 28, 2027 |
| Length | Eight months |
| Award range | $75,000–$100,000, paid in three payments tied to deliverables |
| Institutional Fellowship | $75,000, paid to the organization or fellow |
| Individual Fellowship | $75,000, paid to the individual |
| Emerging Technology Fellowship | $100,000, paid to the individual |
| Location | Remote, with a couple of visits to RJI |
| Project requirement | Build, test, and launch a free, accessible resource for journalists, newsrooms, and the public |
| Official source | RJI Professional Innovation Fellowships |
RJI describes the final product broadly. It may be a guide, tool, platform, program, or workshop. The important test is practical usefulness: the work should address a current need, gap, or challenge in journalism and be usable by other news organizations, journalists, or the communities they serve.
What the fellowship funds
The fellowship is structured for a project that moves from a well-defined problem through building, testing, and launch. The stipend can help cover the fellow’s project costs while they develop the resource. For the Institutional Fellowship, the funds may go to the organization or the individual. For the Individual and Emerging Technology Fellowships, RJI says the stipend is paid directly to the individual.
The payments are made in three installments based on completion of deliverables. That arrangement matters when planning the proposal. A strong application should show what will be built first, what evidence will be gathered during testing, and what will be ready for public use at the end. The project should be sized for an eight-month fellowship rather than presented as an unlimited research agenda.
RJI also expects the work to be free, accessible, and open source for journalists, newsrooms, and the public. An applicant can therefore describe a tool or service that begins with a particular newsroom or community, but the proposal should explain how the resulting resource will be shared beyond that first setting.
The three fellowship tracks
Institutional Fellowship
The Institutional Fellowship is for a fellow working within an organization. The organization may be the applicant’s employer or a mutually agreed partner for the project. RJI is looking for a resource, tool, program, or product that solves a real need for that organization while also being applicable to other journalists and organizations in the industry.
The institutional setting can provide access to staff, workflows, records, audiences, or community partners needed for testing. It also creates a responsibility: the project should not remain an internal improvement that benefits only the host organization. The application should identify the broader audience and the practical steps for making the final product free and accessible to other newsrooms.
RJI says Institutional Fellows will build, test, and gather feedback internally and externally before launching the final resource. A useful proposal might describe a newsroom workflow that can be documented as a public playbook, a community feedback method that can be adapted elsewhere, or a shared tool that helps multiple organizations handle a recurring reporting problem.
The stipend is $75,000 and is paid directly to the organization or fellow in three payments based on deliverables. The fellowship is remote, with a couple of visits to RJI.
Individual Fellowship
The Individual Fellowship is for a person who wants to pursue an important journalism project outside a full-time job or freelance business. RJI specifically names journalists, consultants, researchers, and other individuals as possible applicants. You do not need to be working for a large newsroom to make a credible proposal.
The strongest individual projects will have a clear user and a concrete public result. Examples could include a reporting guide that helps small outlets cover a difficult subject, a shared documentation system for a continuing civic issue, a training program that can be delivered by under-resourced newsrooms, or a resource that helps communities participate more effectively in local information systems. The idea should be more than a personal project: it should become something that others can access and apply.
RJI requires Individual Fellows to build, test, and gather internal and external feedback before launching the resource. Applicants should identify the people who will test the work, the questions those testers will answer, and how the results will change the final version.
The stipend is $75,000, paid directly to the individual in three payments based on deliverables. Like the other tracks, the fellowship is remote with a couple of visits to RJI.
Emerging Technology Fellowship
The Emerging Technology Fellowship is for a project in which emerging technology is central to solving the journalism problem. RJI says the proposed solution should not be possible without the technology being used. That makes the track more demanding than adding an AI feature or other new tool to a conventional project simply because it is fashionable.
Applicants should explain the journalistic need first, then show why the proposed technology is a necessary part of the answer. They should also describe safeguards, testing, human review, and the limits of the system where those issues affect trust or accuracy. A technically impressive prototype is not enough if journalists cannot understand when to use it or communities cannot access the resulting resource.
The Emerging Technology Fellow must build, test, and gather feedback internally and externally before launching a free and accessible resource for journalists and newsrooms. The stipend is $100,000, paid directly to the individual in three payments tied to deliverables. The fellowship is remote with a couple of visits to RJI.
Who can apply
RJI’s frequently asked questions provide unusually broad eligibility guidance. The official page says applicants may be located anywhere and do not have to live in the United States. It also says applicants do not have to be a certain age, have a particular background, or be a journalist. That means the program is open to a wide range of people and organizations, provided the proposed work fits the fellowship’s purpose.
The broad eligibility does not remove the need for a credible plan. Applicants still need to show that they understand a real journalism or community-information problem, can complete the work during the fellowship, and will produce a resource that others can use. A technologist should be able to explain the journalism need in plain language. A journalist should be able to explain how the proposed tool, program, or resource will be built and tested. An organization should identify the fellow, the internal support available, and the users who will provide feedback.
Location is also compatible with remote participation. RJI says the fellowships are remote and that the institute will cover the cost of the couple of trips it requires. Applicants should still account for those visits when considering availability and scheduling.
Application process and preparation
The official page gives a two-stage application process followed by finalist interviews. The first stage opens on November 2, 2026 and closes on December 18, 2026. RJI then sends second-round applications through Submittable in early to mid-February. Invited applicants have two weeks to complete and submit that more detailed application.
The first round is the point to make the project understandable quickly. Before the application opens, prepare a concise explanation of:
- The specific journalism or community need you have observed.
- The people, newsrooms, or communities who experience that need.
- The resource you intend to build.
- Why your background, organization, or partners are suited to the work.
- How the resource could be useful outside the first test setting.
For the second round, be ready with a more detailed delivery plan. RJI’s process requires the fellow to build, test, gather feedback, and launch within the eight-month fellowship. Map those stages before applying. A practical plan might begin with user interviews and a narrow prototype, continue with testing by journalists and community members, and end with documentation, training, public release, and a plan for maintaining the resource.
RJI also says fellows will publish articles and other public-facing deliverables about what they are learning. The official page mentions articles, webinars, a fundraising strategy, social logo and branding standards, and preparation for launch and long-term sustainability. These are signs that the fellowship is about more than private development. Your application should explain how you will communicate progress, invite useful feedback, and help other newsrooms adopt the result.
How to make a proposal fit the program
Start with the user rather than the technology. Name the journalists or communities who encounter the problem, describe what currently happens, and show why existing approaches are inadequate. If the project is for local newsrooms, specify the size and type of outlet you have in mind. If it serves a community, explain how people from that community will shape testing and evaluation.
Keep the first version narrow enough to finish. A proposal that promises a complete replacement for several newsroom systems will be difficult to test in eight months. A focused tool, guide, training series, or platform feature can produce better evidence and a more useful public launch. RJI’s requirement that the final resource be free and accessible also favors a clear core product over a long list of optional features.
Show the path from prototype to adoption. Explain who will test the early version, what will count as useful feedback, and what you will change as a result. Include accessibility, documentation, and onboarding in the plan rather than treating them as final polish. A resource can be technically complete and still fail if its intended users cannot understand it, reach it, or fit it into their work.
For the Emerging Technology track, state what the technology makes possible and what it cannot safely do. Include a human role where editorial judgment, verification, privacy, or community trust is involved. The project should help journalism rather than turn the technology itself into the main story.
Finally, be precise about the deliverables connected to the three payments. The official program does not publish a universal milestone template on the page, so applicants should propose milestones that match their own project. A clear sequence could include a tested problem definition, an initial working version, documented external feedback, and a public launch with instructions for reuse. Make sure each milestone can be demonstrated and that the final product will remain free and accessible.
Timing for prospective applicants
The 2027 cycle is announced but does not open until November 2, 2026. Use the period before opening to identify users, confirm partners, collect examples of the problem, and decide which fellowship track fits the work. The first-round deadline is December 18, 2026, so waiting until the application window opens to define the project will leave little time for meaningful preparation.
If invited to the second round, monitor the Submittable invitation and be prepared to complete the longer application within two weeks. The fellowship itself begins June 28, 2027 and runs for eight months. Because RJI expects fellows to test and launch a public resource, applicants should confirm that they can make the required time available and participate in the remote meetings and visits.
The official RJI page is the controlling source for the application opening, deadline, award amount, eligibility, and process. Check it before submitting in case RJI changes the instructions or adds application materials. At the time of this update, the 2027 round is the announced cycle and the page provides a real future deadline rather than a placeholder.